Leadership Development

Our leadership development services help to grow the leadership skills and abilities of individuals. Our clients learn practical skills and authentic ways of being in order to move their organizations forward, whether through a robust leadership development program or an individual workshop on a particular topic.

Leadership programs may include the following:

We are able to deliver an off-the-shelf workshop, fully customized training, and everything in between. Below are examples of topics and workshops we have delivered in the past.

SOAR (Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations & Results)

This powerful program helps employees at all levels of an organization improve communications, strengthen relationships and teams, learn from mistakes, and reduce stress. These elements can drive organizational success, but also provide personal growth for attendees.

The SOAR approach can be customized to organizational needs, or even focused on executives to help leadership recognize current strengths and identify a vision of success going forward.

Sample modules include building trust, accountability, and leadership focus on Strengths (what an organization is doing well); Opportunities (identifying industry events, market factors, or other circumstances that may present chances for organizational growth and success); Aspirations (deciding what the organization will strive to be in the future); and Results (confirming specific, measurable benchmarks that indicate when aspirations have been met).

Emotional Intelligence

In this practical, interactive workshop, participants learn and apply the components of emotional intelligence (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management); become aware of the impact a leader’s emotional intelligence can have on enhancing individual and organizational performance; learn and apply the concepts of emotional triggers, self-awareness, and self-management; and identify and practice skills for managing self, raising social awareness, and building social skills.

Communication, Collaboration & Accountability Essentials

In this interactive and applied workshop, participants learn the essentials of communicating for better understanding and action. Participants explore the barriers to effective understanding through models such as the Ladder of Inference and learn tools and techniques to improve understanding through effective dialogue practices.

They also learn how to have conversations for action through effective requests and agreements. Throughout the session, participants work with real issues in their workplace, and have fun planning to apply the learning.

Conflict Management

Using the Thomas Kilmann Inventory (TKI), participants learn and practice appropriate styles of conflict intervention while discovering which style serves them best at which times. Participants debrief on their learning experience and set personal conflict management goals. Workshop exercises apply the results of the TKI to practice new skills and behaviors.

Embracing Difficult Conversations

Participants are introduced to the Fierce Conversations™ approach, which focuses on the importance of building relationships by addressing difficult issues early and often, before they become major problems. Participants reflect on their own obstacles to having such discussions and apply the model to plan for the conversation. Through practice, participants prepare for a conversation that needs to occur and have an opportunity to deliver their “opening statement” and receive feedback.

Participants also learn their emotional triggers that may get in the way of having a productive conversation, then practice strategies for managing those triggers. The session is interactive and offers participants a planned approach for dealing with difficult conversations and relationships.

Managing with Styles in Mind (MBTI or DISC)

In this fun, highly engaging and interactive workshop, participants learn the concept of preferences and styles through MBTI or DISC. They learn about and value others with differing perspectives in order to collaborate more effectively, enhance their own leadership effectiveness, improve communication, and build a greater sense of team.

Delivering Effective Feedback

In this workshop participants learn the distinctions of effective versus ineffective feedback, are introduced to a model for delivering feedback effectively (Situation, Behavior, Impact, Request), have an opportunity to prepare for delivering feedback in a real work situation, and obtain feedback from peers on their own ability to deliver feedback.

Solving Business Challenges through Action Learning

Action Learning is the process of solving real business challenges while developing leadership skills. Building on the principles of action learning, participants use the methodology to solve important business issues. Using the process of asking powerful questions, assessing group dynamics, and providing feedback to each other, this workshop allows class participants to think strategically while enhancing their own abilities to lead.

Transforming from Manager to Leader

Includes the following topics:

• Managing and Leading, Motivation to Lead, Leadership Styles: Participants identify and apply distinctions between managing and leading while identifying their own leadership styles through Hay Group’s Management Style Questionnaire (MSQ). Through exercises and discussions participants determine which style is most effective for which type of situation/employee. Participants also engage in discussions on strategies for motivating staff using data gathered in Daniel Pink’s recent book, Drive.
• Followership & Relationship, Power and Influence, Managing from the Middle: Building on the work of Barry Oshry, this workshop introduces participants to identifying stakeholders, distinguishing between power, influence, and authority, and developing strategies for leading from the place of “middle.” The workshop further explores the concepts of “managing the boss” and building effective peer relationships.

Effective Meeting Management

The workshop focuses on the helping participants learn the building blocks of running effective meetings/calls. Through exercises and discussions, participants practice techniques to arrive at the meeting’s desired outcomes, develop strategies for dealing with common meeting problems, and gain skills to ensure commitments and actions are documented and followed through on.

Participants sharpen their techniques for managing a project team, while increasing accountability for making and following through on commitments; and walk away with practical tools and techniques that can be put into action immediately.

Leadership Presence

In this workshop, participants develop an understanding of what it means to have presence and be present; define the presence they want to display; gain awareness of how their presence is experienced by others; assess what interferes with their presence; learn communication enhancing techniques; practice presence and communication via video taking and feedback, identifying areas for change; and return to work with specific actions and practices to implement. Tools and techniques are shared to allow participants to set their own intention for their presence.

Case Studies

Leadership development program for “managers of managers”

TWG led the design and development of a four-day leadership development program to help in transitioning of roles.

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Transforming the Organization through Leadership Development

DOT engaged The Wynhurst Group, in partnership with Federal Management Partners (FMP), to help plan a strategy for transforming the organization’s culture.

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